Coalition 2026 Spokesman Predicts Victory, Casts Bensouda as Leader to ‘Rescue’ Gambia

By Seedy Jobe

Assan Martin, the spokesperson for Coalition 2026, has declared that the opposition alliance is poised to form the next government, casting its leader, Talib Ahmed Bensouda, as the candidate capable of delivering the political change Gambians are seeking.

Speaking on Thursday at the signing of the coalition’s memorandum of understanding, Mr. Martin said the country had reached a defining political moment, arguing that Gambians were weary of division, economic hardship, and what he described as years of broken promises.

He said the coalition was formed around the belief that national interests should take precedence over party loyalties and individual political ambitions.

“Coalition 2026 was born not for personalities, not for parties, but for the Gambian people as a whole,” Mr. Martin said.

He described the alliance as a coalition built around a shared vision and political program, bringing together parties, movements, and other stakeholders seeking a change of government.

Mr. Martin said the coalition sought to represent a broad cross-section of Gambian society, including farmers, teachers, young people, women, civil servants, and business owners. The alliance, he said, was intended to demonstrate that competing political ambitions could be set aside in pursuit of a common national objective.

At the center of that effort is Mr. Bensouda, the mayor of Kanifing Municipal Council, whom the coalition has chosen to lead its campaign for the Dec. 5 presidential election.

Mr. Martin portrayed Mr. Bensouda’s candidacy as representing a generational shift in Gambian politics and argued that a unified opposition could defeat the incumbent government.

“When we unite, no doubt, we become a force that can bring change,” he said. “And come 5th December, God willing, Gambia is going to have a new government under Coalition 2026.”

Mr. Martin said a Coalition 2026 government would pursue institutional reforms and new policies aimed at addressing the economic and governance challenges facing the country. He pointed to the hardships confronting ordinary Gambians and what he described as institutional failures as evidence that a change in leadership was needed.

His remarks also reflected the coalition’s growing effort to present Mr. Bensouda not simply as its presidential candidate, but as the figure around whom its broader campaign for political change is built.

Mr. Martin offered particularly effusive praise for the mayor, describing him as the coalition’s “guarantee and assurance” and comparing his political appeal to that of former United States President Barack Obama.

“In Lord Mayor Talib Bensouda, we have the new Obama of The Gambia,” he said.

Mr. Martin ended his remarks with an emphatic prediction of victory, dismissing the suggestion that the presidential contest would remain uncertain until the end.

“Come December 5th, 2026, Coalition 2026 will govern this country,” he said.